More sexually choreographed than a Michael Bay film, "Step Up 5: All In" is a generic piece, which lacks heart. Written by Scott Gentry.

"Step Up 5: All In" (PG)
Directed by: Trish Sie.
Starring: Alyson Stoner, Briana Evigan, Ryan Guzman, Izabella Miko, Adam G. Sevani and Misha Gabriel Hamilton. 
Rated: PG for containing mild bad language, rude gestures and sex references.
Running time: 112 minutes. 
Out in UK cinemas from the 1st of August, 2014. 

To all the cineaste's out there, name a film which involves a story surrounding dance. The likelihood is that many of you will probably be thinking about "Billy Elliot" or “Saturday Night Fever”. In that case, good for you! But, most young teenagers of today's society would unfortunately mention films such as "Street Dance" (the Brit’s own tiresome contribution), and perhaps the critically condemned “Battle Of The Year”. Whatever happened to films like "Footloose"? It seems as though the drama and charisma has since been lost in contemporary dance films, having been replaced with street-wise scripts and intolerable characters, leaving most films with empty shells. 

The same goes for "Step Up 5: AI" (has there really been that many? Good grief!) as the seemingly greedy film companies behind this boring affair have decided to pick out one of their oldest franchises ("Step Up" films have been going strong, financially, since 2006) and wring the last few dollars from its worthless body, by upping the drama (OOH!), the suspense (OOH!) and... the sexual tension? 

You harlot. That dress is far too short and you know it! Briana Evigan and Ryan Guzman star in a still from "Step Up 5: All In". 

Well, whatever they've attempted to improve on, it's been wasted here. The script is as boring as you'd expect but there is a story here, yet it's extremely vague. Following the disbanding of Sean’s (Guzman) dance crew known as “The Mob”, he decides to stay in Los Angeles, as his friends return home to Miami. After learning of a dance competition in Las Vegas (wherein the winning group obtain a three year contract), Sean decides to create a new team with his fellow dancer and friend, Moose (G.Sevani). After training for some time, the group (now known as Lmmental) travel to Las Vegas in the hope of becoming international stars. 

As you'd expect, there's just constant squabbling from the lead actors, continuous sexual references and overly racist characters. It's just not entertaining. 

The film's not all bad, surely? Well dear readers, you may be right, as it seems it's saving grace can be found in the cast's dance skills. Flying about the screen (literally), this group of individuals have performed well in their routines, but it's a shame their acting talents aren't as refined.

Verdict

Overly sexual and irregularly entertaining, this fifth instalment only confirms that with their underwritten characters and cringe-worthy humour, the “Step Up” films are only becoming worse. After all, there’s been five “Step Up” films, yet still no sequel to “Dredd”. What is the world coming to?  

3 Stars out of 10

Written by Scott Gentry.

Film Rating Key

1-2 stars out of ten = Awful.

3-4 stars out of ten = Average.

5-6 stars out of ten = Good.

7-8 stars out of ten = Excellent.

9-10 stars out of ten = Amazing.